Several theoretical and doctrinal problems limit current US Army understanding of conflict, war and operational art. Those problems include confusion between conflict and war, ambiguity of theoretical terms such as "center of gravity" or...
Creativity, the generation of new ideas that are both novel and appropriate is essential to understanding complex problems, and can be enhanced by both life experience diversity and cognitive diversity, as well as by delayed evaluation during...
Col. John Boyd, USAF (Ret),famous for developing the OODA (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) loop model, spent most of his adult life trying to convince the U.S. military establishment of the merits of his theory for maneuver warfare later called the Boyd...
The ability to creatively solve problems is a critical skill for a military commander/manager. Creative problem-solving depends upon creative alternative generation or ideation. An often espoused method of improving ideation is the use of group...
There is a common view within the United States Army that Information Operations is a military doctrine designed to win a "battle of ideas" within human populations. This monograph refutes this understanding of Information Operations by tracing the...
Whether adjusting to a new environment or to an evolving threat, America's Army of the 21st century must be adaptable and become more innovative. The operational environment is becoming more complicated and complex. Societal trends, such as...
In the last ten years, the United States military has dealt with emerging counterinsurgencies in multiple operational theaters. To deal with the complex nature of counterinsurgency, organizational planning and operational processes increasingly...
This student monograph traces the early writings of B. H. Liddell Hart in order to establish a basis for evaluating his continuing relevance as theorist of war. Particular attention is given to that dimension of war now called the operational...
The Army as well as the other armed services began a transformation in the late 1990s in order to meet the challenges of warfare in the future. This effort is characterized by utilizing technology as the catalyst for change. The process has...
This monograph examines the phenomenon of the disproportionate volunteerism of members of Delaware's Presbyterian Ulster-Scot community in the sole Regiment from Delaware to join the Continental Army. It posits Ulster-Scots represented a majority...
Change and innovation are issues that constantly confront an organization like the Army. During certain periods, the currents of change seem stronger than others. Today the Army confronts the Information Age revolution and a transition into a new...
This monograph conducts a doctrinal analysis of Red Army planning and execution of the Soviet-Finnish War to determine if poorly developed doctrine was the cause of Soviet failures. Military doctrine is critical to a nation. Sound doctrine will...
This study analyzes the theories of Pragmatic Communications, Cybernetics, and Perturbation under the framework of the Pragmatic Complexity Model to illustrate how two Presidential administrations beginning in the 20th and 21st centuries used 'new...
The response of U.S. foreign policy to the volatile rise of global jihadism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks has been sweeping and multifaceted. One key pillar of U.S. strategic response has been the active promotion of Western representative...
Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious doctrines, of which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national security strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S....
This paper proposes a working theory of operational art as practiced in counterinsurgency war (i.e., modern war). The underlying hypothesis of the paper is that operational art in modern war uses different logic than that used in conventional war....
Based on experiences with long-duration operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army recognizes the need for commanders and their staffs to have new tools and ways of thinking to deal with complex problems. The specific approach the...
Propaganda and disinformation characterized indispensable components of nineteenth and twentieth century warfare. Examples such as Leni Riefenstahl's “Triumph of the Will” or Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight” series made no attempt to honestly...
The U.S. (U.S.) Government’s ability to influence friends and foes around the world has immense strategic implications that can either enhance U.S. strategic objectives or contribute to a loss of U.S. power. Nine years after the beginning of the...